Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about our gear. Where we do not know something we say so rather than guessing, and where the honest answer is unflattering it is still the answer.
Jig heads
What size jig head should I use for crappie?
Match the weight to depth and wind rather than to habit. In shallow water in spring, a 1/32 to 1/16 oz head lets the bait fall slowly enough to stay in front of fish holding tight to cover. Fishing deeper, in current, or in wind, step up so you can keep contact and feel the bite. Go lighter when fish are finicky and the fall itself is what triggers them. Missouri's Department of Conservation recommends 1/32 to 1/16 oz for shallow spring crappie, and Minnesota's DNR describes letting a 1/32 to 1/8 oz jig fall to the bottom and retrieving slowly with occasional jigging.
What hook size is on each jig head?
Hook size tracks weight rather than style, so the rule is simpler than the list. A 1/16 oz head takes a size 2 or 4; a 1/32 oz takes a 4 or 6; a 1/64 oz takes a 6. Specifically: Minnow and Round are size 2 at 1/16 oz and size 4 at 1/32 oz. Ball heads are size 4 sickle at 1/16 and 1/32 oz, and size 6 sickle at 1/64 oz. Big Eyed Flash is size 4 sickle at 1/16 oz and size 6 sickle at 1/32 oz. Drone is size 6. Chenille is size 4 sickle. Tungsten heads are offered in #6 and #8.
Which jig heads use sickle hooks, and does it matter?
Ball, Big Eyed Flash and Chenille are built on sickle hooks. The bend on a sickle hook is designed to hold better than a round bend once it is set, which matters more with crappie than with most fish: a crappie's mouth is thin and tears easily, and the fish lost at the boat is usually the one that came off, not the one that never bit.
How many jig heads come in a pack?
Ball, Minnow, Round and Drone are 8 per bag. Big Eyed Flash and Tungsten are 5 per pack. Chenille jigs come 12 to a card.
What colour jig head for stained water?
Opaque colours hold up best when visibility drops, and chartreuse and white are the reliable starting pair in anything from lightly stained to muddy water. Worth knowing that colour underwater is not colour in your hand: red fades first as you go deeper, while purple and black hold their silhouette longest. A red head that looks bright on the boat may read as grey to a fish at twenty feet.
Why would I pay more for a tungsten jig head?
Tungsten is denser than lead, so the same weight makes a smaller lure. You get a faster fall and a slimmer profile at the same weight, and tungsten's hardness transmits bottom contact and light bites better than lead does. Worth it when fish are deep, when you are fishing fast, or when a subtle profile matters.
Soft plastics
What size are the grubs, and how many in a pack?
The Shad, Hot Grub and WOW Grub are all 2 inches, 15 to a pack. The Glow Fry Mini is 1 3/8 inches.
What is the difference between the Shad, the Hot Grub and the WOW Grub?
All three are 2 inches and pair with any of our jig heads; they differ in what they are built to do. The Shad has a realistic shad profile that imitates a stunned or fleeing baitfish, with a subtle swimming motion that works on a slow retrieve or under a float, and it is the one to reach for in clear or pressured water. The Hot Grub is scent-infused in high-visibility patterns, with a body and tail that move on the slightest twitch, built for stained and muddy water. The WOW Grub has a high-action tail that produces a tight swimming motion even on the slowest retrieve, on a durable body that survives several fish.
Do the Glow Fry Mini baits really glow, and do they need charging?
Yes. They are glow-in-the-dark and you charge them with sunlight or a UV light. They are made for low light, stained water, deep cover and shaded docks.
Which colour should I start with?
If you are buying one, start with an opaque chartreuse or white, which hold visibility from lightly stained through to muddy water. Add a natural shad pattern for clear water and a dark pattern for deep or low-light fishing, since dark colours keep their silhouette where reds have already faded.
Glow Magnet LED fishing light
How bright is it, and which should I pick?
Two versions: 6,000 lumens at 60 watts and 10,000 lumens at 100 watts. Most people prefer the 10,000. It puts more light into the water and throws a glow around the boat, and customers tell us the glow alone gives them enough ambient light to work by. The 6,000 is the sensible choice when budget is the deciding factor. Navigation lights are legally required after dark and nothing about this light replaces them.
How much power does it draw, and how long will it run?
The 10,000 lumen model draws about 8.3 amps at 12 volts; the 6,000 lumen draws about 5 amps. How long that lasts depends on your battery, so here is the arithmetic rather than a promise: a healthy 100Ah deep-cycle battery, discharged to the recommended 50 percent, gives roughly 6 hours on the 10,000 and 10 hours on the 6,000. A smaller battery, an older one, or one shared with your electronics gives less. Run it off a dedicated house battery, never your cranking battery.
Will it run off my boat battery?
Yes. It comes with a heavy duty 30-foot cord and battery clips, so it wires straight to a 12 volt battery.
How deep can it go?
The 30-foot cord sets the working depth. Some of that length is in the boat and over the gunwale, so in practice it fishes to somewhere around 25 feet. We have not tested it deeper than that, so we do not publish a pressure rating. Please do not splice the cord to extend it: a joint on a cord that goes underwater is a waterproofing job the cord was not designed for, and it is how a light floods.
Why green light?
Green is the established choice for underwater fishing lights, and controlled work on small crustacean zooplankton does single out green as the best-attracting wavelength among those tested. What we will not tell you is that green penetrates deepest in every water, because that depends on what is in your water. Stain, suspended sediment, algae and dissolved organic matter all change which wavelengths get through, and in tannic water the answer is different from clear water. We would rather you knew that than repeated a slogan.
Will a light bring the fish to me?
Honestly, not directly, and we would rather say so. Fish do gather around lights at night; that is measured and it is real. But the mechanism runs through the forage base and through visibility, not through crappie being drawn to the glow itself. The one published field trial that directly tested a submersible light on white crappie catch found no increase, and slightly fewer of the larger fish. A light is a tool for concentrating activity where you can fish it, not a magnet.
Snowball's Bait Tonic
How much AquaZapp do I use?
One tablespoon treats 50 gallons.
Can AquaZapp go into a tank that already has bait in it?
Yes. That is what it is for. It conditions the water your bait is already living in, and the whole point is keeping that bait lively so you lose less of it.
What does AquaZapp actually do?
It conditions bait tank water: removes chlorine and copper, adds electrolytes, stimulates a natural slime coat, helps reduce fungus and bacteria, colours the water, and helps keep bait lively so you lose less of it.
How much FoamZapp do I use?
One teaspoon per 100 gallons, repeated as needed. The bottle is 8 fl oz.
Why does my livewell foam up, and does it matter?
Foam comes from aerating water that carries impurities: minerals, fish slime and waste. It matters because the foam layer slows oxygen transfer from the air into the water, and poor oxygen transfer is what kills bait early.
What is StankZapp for?
It is a catfish bait enhancer. You put it on your bait and reapply as needed, and it works by smell rather than sight.
Is StankZapp safe around children and pets?
StankZapp is not toxic. It is bait attractant, not food, and nobody is going to want to swallow it; the smell does that job on its own. If somebody does, expect an upset stomach rather than poisoning. Dogs are the real consideration, and for the opposite reason: the smell that puts people off attracts them. Keep the container closed and out of reach, the same as you would any bait. If a dog gets into a quantity of it, call your vet, not because it is poisonous but because a dog that eats a large amount of any bait attractant is likely to be unwell. Wash your hands after handling it.
Katfish Country Dragon Gliders
What are Dragon Gliders, and what are they for?
They are weights, used when trolling or dragging for catfish. They track smoothly along the bottom, resist snags, keep bait in the strike zone longer, and hold consistent bottom contact without rolling excessively, whether you are slow-trolling, drifting or long-lining, in lakes, rivers or reservoirs.
What is the difference between Standard Duty and Extreme Duty?
Standard Duty is for everyday conditions. Extreme Duty is for rugged bottom where abrasion resistance matters: rock, timber, anywhere a weight takes a beating. Both come in 2 oz and 3 oz, three to a pack.
Which weight should I use?
Heavier holds bottom in more current and at faster drift speeds; lighter gives a more natural presentation when the water is slow. With 2 oz and 3 oz offered, most anglers carry both and switch with conditions.
Accessories
How do I use the Slot Keeper?
Slide the fish into position without fully unhooking it, read the length, and you know straight away whether it is a keeper. It measures without the handling that stresses a fish you are going to release.
What is the legal size limit?
We do not publish limits, and that is deliberate. They differ by water and change by season, so check with SCDNR, or your own state agency, for the water you are fishing. Publishing a number here that turns out to be stale is how a customer gets fined on our word.
Something not answered here? Email info@buzzardgear.com.